Tweet,

Boy, my goof off schedule really got in the way of my report for this
week's walk. Sorry for the delay.

I guess the biggest concern on the refuge is the fact that the nest tree
used by the GREAT HORNED OWLS was damages in Sunday nights wind storm. It
was blown over and now leans on a neighboring tree. I don't know if the
OWLS were on the nest yet or if they will need to find another nesting site
this year. It will keep things interesting.

17 of us enjoyed a great walk in wonderful conditions and were rewarded
with a great day. Not many real highlights but we did see a good selection
of birds. Of note was the reduced numbers of raptors on the refuge.

I guess the BALD EAGLES finally got the word that the salmon run on the
Nisqually River was way down. The river is closed to sport fishing and the
Tribe has pulled their nets. There were only about 7 or 8 BALD EAGLES
compared to over 20 last week. Somehow the HARBOR SEALS and CALIFORNIA SEA
LIONS haven't gotten the word yet. They were both in the river near the
overlook. NORTHERN HARRIER numbers were down also.

We did get good looks at both DUNLIN and GREATER YELLOWLEGS as well as 10
species of ducks. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE flew over the twin barns
overlook with a small flock of CACKLERS and presented an interesting view.

We still had mixed flocks of passerines and did have a couple sightings of
PILIATED WOOEPECKERS, one near the twin barns and the other along the
Nisqually River trail.

For the day we saw 47 species giving us 56 for the year.

Mammals seen were HARBOR SEAL, CALIFORNIA SEA LION. EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL,
and an OPPOSSUM curled up in a tree hollow along the boardwalk to the
right of the visitor center.

Until next week...

Phil Kelley
scrubjay323 at aol.com
Lacey, WA
360-459-1499